Page 45 - January/February 2023 Outdoor Oklahoma

KALIE MEYER/ODWC WILDLIFEDEPARTMENT.COM

Pelts like these are prepared by trappers and sold to the fur market.
USFWS

Trappers often look for natural elements that can aid in success when picking
out a site.
Homeowners in all areas of Oklahoma who simply enjoy
nature can also benefit from regulated trapping. While
people enjoy their vegetable gardens, fruit trees, flow-
erbeds and bird feeders, there is always some critter out
there waiting to enjoy them even more.
Live traps, or cage traps, are a style of trap that is easy
to set, check, relocate (after obtaining proper permission
on the new area), and release problematic wildlife in, and
around, your home. These problematic wildlife species
can cause damage outside and inside the home. With
the use of regulated trapping and with an understanding
of trap types, homeowners can maintain the boundar-
ies they desire with the wildlife while still promoting the
diversity in the landscape that people enjoy so much.
There are so many ways that well enforced, regulated
trapping can positively impact the landscape around you.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee prepares to collect a beaver from a
Whether you choose to practice these methods yourself, live trap to relocate the animal.
employ a private business or federal agency, or grant variety of ways, and regulated trapping supports them all.
access to your property for use by a resident trapper, you Learn more about furbearer management and best man-
can access the benefits of regulated trapping in your sur- agement practices for trapping from the Association of
rounding environment. We Oklahomans use our land in a Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

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